After Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family is forced to hire migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure. Tyler isn’t sure what to make of these workers. Are they undocumented? And what about the three daughters, particularly Mari, the oldest, who is proud of her Mexican heritage but also increasingly connected her American life. Her family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty they left behind in Mexico. Can Tyler and Mari find a way to be friends despite their differences?
In a novel full of hope, but no easy answers, Julia Alvarez weaves a beautiful and timely story that will stay with readers long after they finish it.
JULIA ALVAREZ is the author of three other beloved Tía Lola Stories—How Tía Lola Came to (Visit) Stay, How Tía Lola Learned to Teach, and How Tía Lola Saved the Summer—in addition to several critically acclaimed books for children and adults. She is a writer-in-residence at Middlebury College in Vermont.